JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Crowley Maritime Corp. on Saturday christened its Commitment Class combination container/roll on-roll off ship El Coquí, which is among the first of its kind to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The ship is a key new component in Crowley’s supply chain transformation in the U.S. mainland-Puerto Rico trade.
A crowd of more than 300 people included representatives from the White House; U.S. Congressional; the Florida Legislature; local officials; ship builder VT Halter Marine and Eagle LNG Partners joined Crowley employees, El Coquí crew members and other industry and union representatives to celebrate this milestone.
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Crowley Board of Directors Member Christine Crowley, spouse of Chairman and CEO Tom Crowley, served as sponsor performing the time-honored tradition of breaking a champagne bottle over the hull of the 720-foot vessel at the JAXPORT Cruise Terminal in Jacksonville, Fla.
The event included remarks by Tom Crowley; Alexander B. Gray, Special Assistant to the President for the Defense Industrial Base; Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón of Puerto Rico; U.S. Reps. John Rutherford and Ted Yoho, both of Florida; and Augustin "Augie" Tellez, Executive Vice President, Seafarers International Union.
El Coquí, which departed fully loaded for San Juan following the christening, is 219.5 meters (720 feet), 26,500 deadweight tons (DWT), and able to transport up to 2,400 twenty-foot-equivalent container units (TEUs) at a cruising speed of 22 knots.
The ship can accommodate containers in a wide range of sizes and types – including 53-foot by 102-inch-wide, high-capacity containers and refrigerated containers. Within the ship is an enclosed, ventilated and weather-tight Ro/Ro deck that can protectively carry cars and larger vehicles. This type of shipboard garage is offered exclusively by Crowley in the trade, enhancing supply chain solutions for customers.
The ship is the first of two vessels built as part of Crowley’s Commitment Class project. Her sister ship Taíno is in the final phases of construction and testing at VT Halter Marine’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. She is expected to be delivered later this year.
The Jones Act ships are U.S.-built, owned and crewed. They are part of Crowley’s $550 million investment under the Commitment Class project, modernizing its supply chain solutions serving diverse customer needs in Puerto Rico, including three new gantry cranes; a new 900-foot pier; and an enhanced terminal operating system at the Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan.
In Jacksonville, Crowley constructed an LNG bunker fuel station to fuel the new ships with partner Eagle LNG, that is among the first of its kind, too. Crowley has served Puerto Rico since 1954, longer than any other U.S. shipping company.